Pokemon Black and White: Ash's Predictament
by A dreamer named Seiji
Summary: My first fanfict pokemon story. a fictional story of ash and iris's relationship together. some pokeshipping, advanceshipping, and pearlshipping later.
1. Chapter 1

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 1**

The setting is the unova region on the pinwheel forest side of skyarrow bridge. Ash,along with unova region companions Iris and Cilan,continue their quest of the unova region where ash hopes to enter the unova league. After the defeat of lenora in necrene city ash is on his way to the next gym in castelia city where he hopes to compete for his third gym badge. It is a sunny and great afternoon as the trio pass the check gate and begin walking across the long skyarrow bridge.

"Ah,what a nice day today. great day to cross the beautiful skyarrow bridge isn't it?" says cilan walking alongside iris

"Yeah is it,and the perfect day to acquire my third badge!" ash says walking confidently ahead of them

"oh ash,always so quick to battle. why not relax and enjoy yourself once in a while?" iris says

"well,I can do that anytime but me becoming a pokemon master can't wait! right pikachu?" ash says looking at pikachu on his shoulder

"Pika! Pii, Pika!" Pikachu says

"wow,really want to prove yourself against the best huh ash?" cilan says

"You know it! a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and a trainer has to do what a trainer has to do too!" ash proclaims throwing his fist in the air

Walking slightly closer to ash, iris then says "You're always so determined and focused ash. that's what I love about you...-"

Ash quickly turns and says "What was that you said?"

"oh,uh,um, I meant that's really admiring of you. you've still got a ways to go though" iris replies

"oh...right" ash says as they continue walking cross the massive bridge.

After a while the gang reaches the halfway point of the bridge so they decide to stop and admire the view of the ships in the distance and the trucks running below them. they feel the gentle breeze passing by them as they then look towards the other side of the bridge where castelia city lies viewing the skyline of the tall buildings.

"wow,castelia city is beautiful to look at from this bridge." says cilan leaning on a railing

"yeah it is. can't wait to get there!" ash says also leaning against the rail

"so...ash. I've heard castelia city has a lot of attractions. cafes,a park,a movie theater,and a dock too. so when we get there you want to check them out with me?" iris says as she casually stands next to ash then attempts to grab his hand.  
>Ash,unknowningly, steps away from the railing and faces forward towards castelia city before iris grabs his hand then says "Hah,all this anticipation is getting me pumped. I can't wait to see what the next gym is like and how strong the gym leader is!"<p>

iris just stands there looking a little disappointed and says silently "oh ash..." while cilan looks back and them and smiles

A few moments later they finally arrive in castelia city. they are all in awe of how big the city truly is while they're in it. looking around there are plenty of attractions from battle towers to luxury cruises. their first stop naturally is the pokemon center which is conveniently close to where they are. after several minutes a nurse joy comes out to the group who are waiting in the lobby area and says "there,all your pokemon are healed ash. good as new"

"Great!" ash says standing up "now I'm ready for the gym battle! haha!"

"oh,you're challenging the gym are you?" nurse joy says

"yeah,I got two badges and going for my third!"

"well...about that...um.."

"Huh?" the three says in unison

"the thing is the gym is closed for today. its a special town event you see." nurse joy says

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" ash says surpised

"aww,too bad ash. you were looking forward to that gym battle." cilan says while ash slumps down

Iris then comes up to ash and says "oh,don't worry ash. we've got plenty to do here until tomorrow. you'll have your gym battle but for now let's go out and enjoy ourselves."  
>Then axew comes out of iris's hair and says "Ax, axew!"<p>

cilan walks up and says "yeah ash. let's enjoy the flavor this town brings!" as he walks towards the door while ash,still in a slump, says "oookkk..."

then iris gets unusually close to ash and holds his arm gently pulling him and says "come on ash,cheer up. we'll have fun together."

As they walk out of the pokemon center cilan,walking behind them,sees they're real close together walking and says to himself "wow...had no idea they were that close.."

* * *

><p>Hope you like it. this is the first chapter. next one's coming soon...<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 2**

After a while of walking around the city looking at various attractions ash, iris, and cilan head towards the docks where several ships are stopped. they then notice a large luxurious-looking ship nearby so iris,still holding ash's arm and keeping close to him, motions him over to take a look at it with cilan and pikachu close behind.

"wow, isn't it beautiful ash?" she says looking at him

"uh,yeah its pretty neat. um...you don't have to hold my arm anymore. I can walk around just fine now,iris." says ash in a dull tone

iris, seemingly unaware of ash's comments, continues holding on to ash's arm then says "oh my,I wish I could take a vacation in one of these someday. if only...if only someone would go with me..." while looking at ash intently. a strange pause as iris stares at ash and ash stares back. finally breaking the silence cilan steps in and says "well it says here that this luxury liner isn't set to sail for another couple of months. too bad,it seems like a really nice cruise."

Then iris finally lets go of ash's arm and jumps up saying "oooh,I know! castelia city's famous for its casteliacones. I'll go get us some,be right back!" and runs off into the crowd.

cilan looks at her running off and says "well that was interesting. she sure got attached to you quick,ash."

ash looks and says "really? she has been acting kinda funny lately. a little too friendly." after a brief pause he smiles and says "nah,she's just being nice. maybe something good happened to her today. let's wait here for her to come back."

"ok,cool" cilan says

After several minutes iris runs back to where ash and cilan are carrying a holding tray with three casteliacones in it.

"sorry I took so long line was real long,casteliacones are real popular nowadays." she starts to hand the cones out with her free hand.  
>"here's yours cilan,here's mine,and the big one I saved for you,ash." she says handing him a cone twice the size of the first two.<p>

"whoa,thanks a lot iris!" ash says as he starts eating it. iris starts eating hers as well as cilan with a big grin on his face looking at ash and iris

Then after a few seconds iris says "oh hey ash. after we finish this ice cream I saw a couple of cool things to do in the city. let's check them out ok?"

ash looks still eating his humongous cone and says "uh,ok since we have nothing better to do"

"right...then you two can get to know each other better.." cilan says jokingly

ash and iris look at cilan and say "huh? what was that?"

"nothing,nothing" says cilan

now it is just past noon and the gang has finished their cones and continue their tour of the city. walking up and down several streets filled with rushing people they run across a building with several pictures and a big sign with "movie theater" on it

"ooo,let's watch a movie together ash!" iris says excitedly. soon after the three were in the theater watching a movie. casually iris places her head on ash's shoulder much to his confusion. then cilan does the same and ash is trapped in the middle of the two of them.

"oh man...what is going on here?" ash says to himself

after the movie the three walk out the movie theater then iris says "oh I just remembered. come on ash,there's a special event going on in the middle of the city!" and with that grabs his hand and pulls him along

"hey,cilan. you coming?" ash asks

"oh no,you two go on ahead. I'll stick around here,I think I'll get more to eat" he says

"ok then" ash says as iris pulls him along. "let's hurry ash!"

cilan watches the two run off and says "ah, those two belong together" then turns around to see one of the lady movie attendants staring at him  
>"heh,gotta take care of my own as well. haha.."<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 3**

A little later on ash and iris are seen running through the thick crowd of people with iris still pulling ash along. eventually the two finally get through to the plaza in the center of town. the biggest part of the focus of the crowd was around the large water fountain where several reporters and people with cameras seem to be doing a news broadcast. ash and iris arrive at the front of the crowd as ash tries to catch his breath.

"...w...phew...why'd you...drag me here...iris...?" ash says out of breath

"I...I wanted you...to see...this,ash...with me" iris says also slightly out of breath

finally catching his breath ash looks and says "well,what's this all about?"

"apparently its some sort of special day here in the city. they hold a celebration once every year and a whole lot of people come from out of town to celebrate it. plus people from the news and media come to do a report on the festivities. it starts here around central plaza but the event lasts all day. there's suppose to be a parade and everything. nice huh? I wanted you to see it with me,ash." iris says

"oh yeah? that's cool. at least we have something to do today!" he says while the crowd starts to cheer

as the crowd builds a truck pulls up and drives slowly around the water fountain before stopping in front of the mass of people. then out from the hood of the truck a man in a strange looking suit pops out with a megahorn and says " Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and I welcome you to the annual castelia city celebration! on this day every year we commemorate the creation of our grand city and all that it contributes to the unova region as well as the world. we are certainly glad that you all took time out of your busy schedule to come here and celebrate with us. whether you are a resident of the city or a visitor we welcome all to the attractions we will have for you today. so enjoy and have fun but don't have too much fun, especially in public if you know what I mean."

with that the crowd cheered loudly and the celebration commenced. soon after, a parade with people dressed as various pokemon and giants floats of pokemon marched through the streets. ash and iris watching in amazement on the sidelines.

"so this is great huh ash?" iris asks

"yeah this is awesome! I haven't seen anything like this in a while! too bad cilan isn't here to see this." ash says

"yeah,but its ok. at least I have you here with me ash." she says in a sweeter voice

"uh...yeah" he says

as the parade continues ash and iris notice several reporters filming the area and seem to be talking to some people in the crowd

"so this will be broadcast worldwide huh?" ash says

"oh yeah,they always air this event" iris says

"boy I really like this day and I like their food too" ash says looking at the various food stands on the street. "right pikachu?"

"Pika!"

Then suddenly iris takes ash's hand and says "well ash,do you like me too?..."

a brief pause as ash and iris look at each other. "well yeah I like you. and I like cilan and all my friends." he says

iris blushes a little then says "well actually,I mean like more than just a friend ash. because...I really like you.."

ash then blushes a little while looking at the ground and says to himself "oh boy...what do I do now?"

Flashback a few minutes earlier far away in the kanto region at cerulean city. in the nearby pokemon center misty is seen sitting down awaiting her pokemon to heal after another fierce gym battle. after a while nurse joy walks up to her and says "ok,your pokemon are all healthy and ready."  
>misty,wearing her water gym swim suit, grabs her poke ball and says "thank you very much nurse joy" as she walks outside. making her way back to the gym she begans to think to herself "...I wonder...how ash is doing.."<p>

then on a tv screen on side of a building she sees a broadcast of the parade at castelia city.

Meanwhile,in the johto region at olivine city, may has just finished a pokemon contest and is sitting in a registration area thinking to herself  
>"another ribbon,awesome! just a few more and I can enter another grand festival...I remember when ash was with me when I entered the first...I wish he was here..."<p>

Then on the tv in the room she sees the parade broadcast from castelia city as well.

At the same time in twinleaf town,dawn is seemingly preparing herself to enter another contest.

"mom,I'm about to leave!" she says as she slips her shoes on thinking to herself.

"wow,its been a while. I wonder what ash is doing now...I wish he could see me in this outfit."

Then on the tv in her house she sees the broadcast of the castelia city celebration.

Back in castelia city a lady reporter stands in front of a camera near where ash and iris are near the parade marching.

"_Hello all,this is a special broadcast live here in downtown castelia city in the unova region where the 26th annual castelia city celebration is well under way. we are having a great time as you can see, the-_"

As misty,may and dawn watch the same broadcast they suddenly notice in the background ash staring there holding hands with iris.

"W-what the? ash?" says misty

"Huh? ash is there? and who's with him?" says may

"I can't believe it! ash and some girl?" says dawn

then they all say collectively " WHO IS THAT GIRL HOLDING HANDS WITH MY ASH?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 4**

Back in Castelia City, ash looks into iris's eyes who is now looking at him endearingly.

"uh..." he says nervously.  
>"um...you look thirsty iris. I'm thirsty too, so let me go get us some soda pop!" he says then turns and starts to walk away. before he gets far iris quickly leaps up and grabs him by the hand.<p>

"Ash! Please!" she says as he looks back at her

"Please...answer me...do you like me?...the way I like you?" says iris as she looks deeply into his eyes

"I-I-" says ash looks back as she continues.

"because...because I've liked you for a while now...ash."

Ash's eyes widen and his heart starts to pound as he stares at her blushing face.

"what...what is this? My heart is pounding.." he thinks to himself. "Iris..."

He turns around to her then says in a nervous voice "I...I do. I...really like you too,iris...I think"

"Really?" says iris.  
>Ash nods his head<p>

"oh Ash!" she says happily then she goes to hug him. ash slowly puts his hands around her and the two hug for about 5 seconds.

"um, you know ash. us being here eating and watching this festival, alone together. It's almost...like we're on a date...you know?" she says looking down

"A d-d-d-date?" ash says

"mm-hmm, and uh..." she says wiggling her fingers together while looking away. "maybe we could do this more...going together, alone. maybe...by ourselves and not around anyone. Then we could do...lots of fun stuff together...like...a couple."

When she says that, ash and iris both blush thinking about it.  
>Ash calms down then says "well...maybe. um...I'll think about it."<p>

Iris then looks up at ash briefly then looks down again.

"I see...ok." she says  
>She then starts to slowly walk towards him and says "Then...while you think about it, let me give you something to help your decision."<p>

She places her hand on the side of ash's face then suddenly she kisses him. For a good 4 seconds the two kiss near the fountain before she pulls away. Ash, shellshocked, turns beet red as iris, still blushing, looks at him with a smile.

"wow...my first kiss." she says as ash remains speechless  
>"well...I'll go get us those sodas. be right back, ok?"<p>

She runs off waving at him leaving ash standing there, mouth open in shock.

Elsewhere meanwhile, misty, may, and dawn make their way to the nearest port in a hurry.

"I have to hurry...to get there" misty thinks as she run

"To the unova region" thinks may

"To Castelia City!" thinks dawn

"I'm Coming! Wait for me, Ash!" they all say


	5. Chapter 5

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 5  
><strong>

A couple of minutes later back in Castelia City ash is sitting down on a bench alone deep in thought, still slightly blushing thinking about the kiss he and iris shared.

He thinks to himself "wow, so that's what a kiss feels like huh?... that was kinda shocking...no girl's ever acted that way with me before... well, there was-"

He then starts to think about misty, may, and dawn and the various, more tender moments he had with them during his journey.

"but still, those were never like this...iris...she-" he says to himself once again remembering spending the day with iris leading up to the kiss.

"she wants us to be...a couple?... doing stuff...together, alone...and..."

He stands up and suddenly slaps himself in the face with both hands as if to get focused.

"Haaah! Can't think about that! gotta focus on the gym battle tomorrow! gotta get my third unova badge! That's right! Training, and battling, and getting to the unova league! I'm gonna be a pokemon master! Yeah!..."

After that brief outburst he pauses for a second and sighs heavily while sitting back down again on the bench. He then begins scratching his head with both hands rapidly.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaargh! What am I supposed do to now?!" he says to himself loudly.

He stops after a few seconds and sits up straight leaning back on the bench then closes his eyes

"ok, gotta clear my mind, that's all...just clear my mind..."

"My, my. you're sure looking focused, ash" A voice says

Ash opens his eyes and looks to his left and standing there looking back at him is professor juniper.

"Professor Juniper!" says ash

"haha, yup its me. It's a pleasant surprise to see you here. How are you, ash?" Juniper asks

"ah, I'm just fine. I didn't think you'd be here though, professor. so what brings you to castelia city?" says ash

"oh, just some professor work. I'm doing research on pokemon in an area nearby" she says as she walks over and sits on the bench next to him.  
>"and you, ash? challenging the castelia city gym I take it?"<p>

"yeah that's right!...but the gym leader wasn't there today cause of a special event here. no worries, I'll challenge em' tomorrow" he says

"oh I see...but when I saw you just now you looked like you were deep in thought about something. something other than a gym battle, I believe. So, is something on your mind? wanna talk about it?" she says

"wow professor, you can tell, huh? well...I guess I can tell you about it. you see..."

Ash explains to professor juniper what had happened between him and iris earlier in the day.

"I see, that is something to think about. so, you and iris are getting pretty close huh?" says juniper

"uh...I guess. it is kinda sudden, not sure how I should be dealing with it. I'm not very experienced with relationships and such" says ash

"oh? well, how do you feel about her" juniper asks

"uh..." ash says nervously. "well I think she's...nice. she's pretty resourceful when finding food in the forest and determined at times..."

"...do you think she's cute?" says juniper

"Huh?!...um..." says ash


	6. Chapter 6

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 6  
><strong>

He thinks about iris and their travels up to this point. he can feel his heartbeat steadily increasing just thinking about it.

"a...a little bit, I...guess"

Professor Juniper smiles and chuckles a little then says "I can certainly see why iris has taken a liking to you"

"Huh?" says ash

"If you don't mind me saying, I think you're a very kind boy...and..."  
>she then slides closer to him and places her finger under his chin.<p>

"you're pretty cute, too."

Ash looks at her, puzzled, as she pulls her hand back.

"I'm sure it must be hard for you to sort out your true feelings right now, but...I'll bet it was just as hard for iris as well. sometimes in life you must give way to caution and let something go, but sometimes..."  
>she then suddenly places her leg on top of his and leans in very close to him.<p>

"you should just throw caution to the wind and go for it.."

For a few seconds she stares into his eyes. He blushes feeling the warmth of her leg on his. She smiles then stands up.

"well I'd better get going. enjoyed talking with you,ash. good luck with your gym battle...and everything else. Oh!..."  
>she goes into her pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, then bends over and hands it to ash.<p>

"here's my number. give me a call whenever you want, and maybe sometime I could give you a private lesson on how to treat a girl" she says winking at him.

"uh...ok" he says

"Bye-bye!" she says as she leaves waving back at him. He waves bye then stands up watching her walk away.

"...what was that all about?" he says to himself.

Unaware to ash, watching from a distant, jesse, james, and meowth of team rocket observe.

"look there, it's the twerp" says james

"yes, being as carefree as ever I see" says jesse

"looks like he and the professor lady are getting friendly" says meowth

"well no matter. let's go, we have to fulfill our mission" says jesse

"Right! says james and meowth.

The three walk away into the crowd.

"I wish me and jesse could be like that. I'd love to tap that someday..." James thinks to himself

"Ever since we came to unova it's been nothing but missions. I wish james would make a move on me already..." thinks jesse

"Hmph...you two are made for each other" thinks meowth

"Hey ash!" A voice says.  
>Ash turns around to see iris running to him with sodas in hand.<p>

"Iris!" ash says

Iris pants a little then says "sorry I took so long. here you go" and hands him a soda

"thanks!" ash says as he takes the soda, opens it and drinks.

"so ash...did you think about what I said earlier?" asks iris

when she says that, ash spits out some of the soda he's drinking then looks at iris and says "uh, a little"  
>He then looks around and says "well, it's getting late. we'd better meet up with cilan and find a place to stay for the night"<p>

"oh, yeah guess you're right. ok, let's go then" says iris in a slightly sad voice.

Ash nods then the two walk together around the crowd of people and out of the central plaza. Iris, walking behind ash, looks at him lovingly then smiles


	7. Chapter 7

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 7  
><strong>

A few hours later it is now nighttime. Ash, Iris, and Cilan are in a room in the pokemon center where trainers spend the night. The three are each in their own bed and in their pajamas.

"wow, these beds are so comfy, and bouncy too. right pikachu?" says ash

"haha, yeah they are. how nice!" says iris

"I concur" says cilan  
>"so did you two have fun together today?"<p>

"well-" says ash before iris cuts him off

"definitely!" says iris happily.  
>"it was great, right ash?"<p>

"hehe, yeah..." says ash  
>"so cilan, how was your day today?"<p>

"uneventful. the festival was nice though" says cilan

"so ash, did you need anything? like another pillow, or maybe something to drink?" says iris

"um, no I'm fine. thanks" says ash smiling at her and she smiles back

The two lock eyes for a couple of seconds until cilan says "hmmm...so, DID anything happen between you two today?"

They both look at cilan then look at each other again and turn away quickly out of embarrassment.

"ooook then" says cilan  
>He yawns and scoots back in his bed then says "well, I guess we'd better get some sleep now. it's been a long day and tomorrow's your gym battle, ash."<p>

"yeah, you're right. can't wait! I wonder how good this gym leader is. I'm psyched!" says ash

"no worries, ash. you've got this gym badge in the bag!" says iris

"Yeah, thanks iris!" says ash

Ash, cilan, and iris all pull the blankets on their beds over them and start to lay down.

"Good night ash. Good night iris." says cilan

"Good night cilan." says ash  
>"Good night cilan." says iris<br>"..good night ash. sweet dreams." she says in a sweeter voice

"good night iris." says ash

The three fall quickly to sleep as the lights go off in the room. A full good night's sleep later it is now morning. ash, laying on his left side, slowly begins to open his eyes. He yawns as he looks out the window seeing that it is morning. He closes his eyes slightly and rolls over on his right side, then sees iris lying in his bed with him, still asleep and facing towards him.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he shouts out in shock.  
>"W-W-W-What?!"<p>

Iris begins to wake up after hearing ash's shouting. she opens her eyes and looks up at ash.

"oh, good morning ash. did you sleep well?" she says

"Iris...why were you sleeping in my bed with me?" says ash.

"oh, sorry. hope you didn't mind. it's just..." she says twitting her fingers.  
>"it's just last night I was...a little lonely sleeping by myself, so I kinda snuck into your bed with you..."<p>

"Huh?!" says ash

"and...also...to be honest, I wanted to get closer to you.." she says

Ash hops out of bed and backs up a little while saying "what? get closer?"

Iris jumps out of the bed and walks to him saying "yes. I kinda said this yesterday but...I want to be with you, for a long time."  
>She hugs him, and ash starts to sweat a little and his heart races.<br>"see, close like this." she says hugging him close. after a few seconds ash pushes away from her and backs away towards the room entrance.

"uh, oh yeah. I gotta hurry and get dressed. I've got a big gym battle to get ready for today. well I'd better get ready now. see you downstairs." ash says quickly then darts out the entrance.

"...oh, ash." Iris says looking on

A few hours later ash, iris, and cilan have made their way to the castelia city gym and ash is now able to challenge burgh the gym leader. In a tough 3-on-3 battle ash manages to get a victory with pikachu defeating burgh's leavanny thus earning him his third gym badge, the insect badge. Afterwards, ash, iris, and cilan are standing outside the gym as ash places his new badge in the badge case admiring it.

"Yes, I got the insect badge finally! Haha!" ash says excitely

"and what a great battle that was." says cilan

"ash, you were amazing! as always!" says iris

"thanks. now I'm one step closer to entering the unova league." says ash

"right, but you've still got 5 badges left to get." says cilan

"oh, right. burgh said the next nearest gym is in nimbasa city, so we should go there as soon as possible." says ash

"hehe, still full of energy, aren't you?" says cilan

"oh, ash. There's no need to rush. let's celebrate your victory." says iris  
>"Hey cilan, could you go and get us snacks please?"<p>

"Huh? snacks? now?" says cilan  
>Iris glares at him. he steps back and says "ooooh...that's what it is. ok then, be right back guys."<p>

Cilan runs off as iris turns to ash and smiles then walks over to him.

"Huh?" says ash

Iris grabs him by his hands and says "ash, I want to do something special for you. as a prize for your win."

"something special?" ash says gazing into her eyes.

Iris nods gazing back at him then says "Ash...I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now. I tried to earlier but you ran out so fast. you see ash, I...I...Just want to say...that I lo-"

"ASH!" says a voice in the distance interrupting iris.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 8  
><strong>

They both look up the street and see a girl with orange hair and jean shorts running towards them.

"huh? who's that?" says iris

"no way...could it be?" says ash

"Hey ash!" the girl says waving at them. she finally reaches ash and iris and stops to catch her breath. she then looks at ash and says "I finally found you."

"It is you! Misty!" says ash

Iris looks back and forth at them both and thinks "Huh? so they know each other?"

"Misty, what are you doing here?" says ash

Misty smiles and says "Isn't it obvious? I came...to see you, ash."

She then walks over and hugs him pressing his face against her chest as iris looks on in shock.

"It's been so long, hasn't it?" misty says

Ash looks at her and says "yeah it has."

"so how are you? doing ok? taking care of yourself? you're looking good I see." says misty

"heh heh...yeah." says ash scratching his face.

"...of course, you've always looked good to me, ash" misty says blushing as she gazes at him. ash looks back at her blushing while iris looks on with a pouty face.

"who is this girl and why's she getting all close to ash like that?!" she thinks to herself.

"I had some free time so I thought I'd come, I saw you briefly on tv here in this city yesterday so I decided to come here and maybe spend some time with you... you know, I never forgot about you, in all this time. and it's...it's because I-"

Another voice in the distance interrupts her.  
>"ASH!"<p>

They all look down the street and see another familar face. a girl with a green bandana and top, and blue shorts running over to them.

"Ash! It's you!" says the girl

"Wha?! Another one?!" iris thinks

"It's her..." misty thinks

"No way! May?!" says ash

May chuckles happily as she runs up and immediately hugs ash, planting her head against his chest.

"oh ash, I've been looking for you everywhere. how've you been? did you miss me? cause I missed you a lot, ash. ever since the wallace cup at lake valor I've wanted to see you again, and be in your arms just like I am now" she says

Ash chuckles nervously hugging her while misty and iris look on angrily.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, may?" says misty

May lets go of ash and looks back at misty then says "oh, it's you misty. didn't think you'd be here. I would've liked to spend time with ash without anyone around bothering us."

"Hmph, I was about to say the same thing to you." says misty.

The two stare at each other intently and ash watches them nervously while iris goes over to ash.

"hey ash, who are these two?" asks iris

Before ash could answer yet another voice in the distance is heard.

"YOO-HOOOO! ASH!"

They all look to see yet another girl standing and waving, a girl with a white wool hat, a black top and pink skirt.

"is...is that?..." ash says to himself

"Ash...ash, I...Found you!" the girl says as she then darts towards ash.

"Oh no, a third one?!" iris says

"Her..." both may and misty think

"It's Dawn!" ash says as she gets closer.

"Ash!" says dawn while she suddenly leaps forward towards him catching him offguard.

"Aaah!-" says ash as dawn crashes into him and they both fall to the ground. ash lands on his back and dawn lands on top of him with her arms around his neck.

"oh ash, I've been looking all over for you. I was afraid you may have left the city already. you have no idea how much I missed you since you left sinnoh. I came all this way and I've finally found you!" says dawn

Ash puts his hand on the back of his head saying "owww..."

"Huh? oh no, I'm sorry. did I hurt you? did you get a bump on your head? want me to kiss you and make it better?" says dawn

"uh, don't you mean kiss IT and make it better?" says ash

"Hey dawn, get off of ash! and what're you doing here anyway?" says may

Dawn turns to may and says "What am I doing here? what are you doing here, may?"

"What do you think? I'm here to be with my ash!" may says

"What?! He's my ash!" says dawn standing up.

"no, he's mine!" says may

The two glare at each other while ash pulls himself up.  
>"what's with those two?" ash says to himself.<p>

"you ok, ash?" asks misty coming to ash's side.  
>He nods yes then misty looks at dawn and may and says "Heh, those two have been at each other for a while now. they're both pokemon coordinators and they've competed in many contests together so they've seen a lot of each other. they've even faced each other a few times so they got a bit of a rivalry going."<p>

"Really?" says ash.

"Hm-mmm. silly little girls, fighting like that over nothing. besides..." says misty as she then holds on to ash's arm and puts her head on his shoulder.  
>"only you and I belong together...ash."<p>

"uh...misty?..." ash says

Dawn and May quickly turn their attention to misty, holding on to ash.

"Hey! what are you doing with ash?!" they both say

"what's it look like? ash hurt his head over your recklessness so I'm comforting him." misty says

"That's my job! I'm ash's girl!" says may

"no, I am!" says dawn

misty lets go of ash and takes a few steps towards them saying "you're both wrong! I'm the only girl ash wants!"

The three stand around glaring at each other and the tension rises. meanwhile ash stands to the side looking on with iris close by.

"Hey you three. what are you doing? don't fight." says ash

Suddenly iris steps forward to ash's surprise clenching her fist.  
>"Hey!" she shouts out getting the attention of all three of them.<p>

"now look here. I don't know who any of you are or what your relationship with ash is but...I'm traveling with ash! He's with me now!"

They all gasp at the same time.

"this girl...I recognize her" thinks misty

"she's the one who was holding hands with ash on tv before." thinks dawn

"Just who are you, anyway?" says may

"If you must know, the name's iris. I'm from the village of dragons,and I'm...ash's new girlfriend!" says iris

"Huh?!" says a stunned ash

"Girlfriend?!" The three say all at once.

The four of them stare each other down as ash watches confounded. Soon after cilan comes running down the street towards ash with several bags in his hands.

"Hey, I'm back." he says then stops and notices the four girls in a staredown.

"Hmm? what's this?" he says


	9. Chapter 9

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 9  
><strong>

A few minutes later in another part of the city ash,iris,may,dawn, and misty are seen sitting outside at a round table with misty then may to ash's left and dawn then iris to his right. cilan is sitting at a nearby table with his chair facing them.

"oh, so these are friends of yours, huh ash?" says cilan

"yeah, we traveled together at one point or another." says ash.

"A pleasure to meet you all. I'm cilan, a pokemon connisseur." says cilan

"Hello, I'm misty the cerulean city gym leader."

"I'm may, a pokemon coordinator."

"and I'm dawn, also a pokemon coordinator."

"I see, wow ash. I'm surprised." says cilan

"what do you mean, cilan?" ash asks

"not only did you become a great trainer and get many great pokemon on your long journey, you got three girls as well. Impressive." says cilan

"Huh?! I-it's not like that!" says ash

"Excuse me but I must correct you...I am ash's ONLY girl." says dawn

"Hey!" says misty and may.

"so, what brings you all here anyway?" asks cilan.

"well, I don't know about these two but..." misty says then grabs ash's hand and holds it.  
>"ash, I wanted to tell you something. something I should have told you last time we saw each other. I...I love you, ash!"<p>

Everyone gasps, including ash who is especially shocked.

"I remember when we first met. you were just starting out, your pikachu fried my bike and I was pretty mad, but over time I found that I was falling for you. and in the time we haven't been together I started to love you even more. so ash, won't you go out with me and no one else?"

Both ash and misty blush looking at each other

"...Misty-" says ash. just then may jumps between misty and ash and takes ash's hand to misty's dismay.

"Ash! please, say you'll go out with me instead! I've fallen in love with you!" she says shocking ash  
>"I didn't like pokemon much before but you showed me how to like them and make friends with them, and I've always admired you for your strength and your courage. I'll do anything for you, ash."<p>

"M-may..." ash says  
>Dawn then grabs ash by his right hand and holds it.<p>

"no, ash. don't listen to them! I've loved you from the moment we met back on route 201. you helped me get my confidence back when I was struggling with pokemon contests and you taught me so much. please ash, take me as your girlfriend!"

"dawn, I..." says ash trying to take it all in  
>"all of you...I...don't know what to say...hehe."<p>

"oh ho, looks like iris has got some competition...hm?" says cilan, then he notices iris looking down and sulking.  
>"hey, what's wrong iris?" he asks<p>

"aww...I thought I was the only girl ash traveled with, now I find out he's been with three other girls and they all want to date him like me...what about me, ash?.." says iris in a depressed voice

"heh heh, well you sometimes have to take the bitter with the sweet, iris." says cilan

A second later iris sits up again quickly clenching her fists with a determined look on her face.  
>"I won't give up!" she says<p>

"ugh...you two are so annoying. quit butting in between me and ash!" misty says to may and dawn

"me butting in?! it's everyone else that's in our way! so leave us be!" says may

"I was having a moment with ash, and you interrupted us!" says misty

"so what? ash likes me better anyways!" says may

"what'd you say?!" says misty

"you heard me!" says may

The two butt heads literally in a staredown as ash looks on with dawn still holding his hand.

"Don't worry ash, I'll protect you from those two. I'll make sure no one ever hurts you." says dawn lovingly

"uh...heh heh heh..." says ash

Iris stands up and slams her hands on the table, quickly getting everyone's attention.

"sorry to burst your bubbles, but...as I said before ash is with me! ash and I have been inseparable the last few days. we've eaten together, we've slept together, and just yesterday we even kissed each other!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the three of them say in total shock and ash and cilan gasp.

"yup that's right, and I do mean a kiss on the lips." iris says with a smirk.

"n-no way...they kissed?" may and dawn say with stunned faces.

"ash...is this true?" asks misty

Ash's face turns red then he nods yes. misty,may and dawn are again shocked then they all fall into a deep, saddened state.

"I can't believe it...I can't..." says misty

"why,ash,why?..." says may

"waaah...I was suppose to be ash's first kiss..." says dawn

As the three sob ash turns to iris with his face still red and says "iris, why would you tell them about that?"

"what's wrong ash? I don't mind telling how I displayed my affection for you...cause I'm your girl, ash." says iris.

"well, I don't believe I was told about you two kissing yesterday." cilan says jokingly. iris looks down and blushes.

Just then misty, may, and dawn rise out of their slump with a seemingly renewed focus.

"Huh?" says iris noticing them

"I'm...I'm not giving up ash that easily!" says misty

"me neither! you may have stolen a kiss from him but I'm gonna win him over!" says may

"I'm not quitting on him either!" says dawn

"Hmph, don't know when to quit, do you? what little kids!" says iris leering at them.

The tension between the four increases as ash watches with a tired face and cilan smiles.

"we'll just see who ash's girlfriend truly is!" may thinks

"I'm gonna win ash's heart! Just you wait!" dawn thinks

"these little girls can't hold a candle to me. ash, just you wait." misty thinks

"I'm not losing ash to anyone!" iris thinks.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 10  
><strong>

A couple of moments afterwards everyone is once again sitting at the table and all seems calm. They all have a tray of food in front of them and are preparing to eat.

"Finally our food has arrived. smells good, time to eat!" says cilan with a burger and fries in front of him then starts eating.

"Yeah!...mm-mmm, nothing like a big chesseburger and fries!" says ash as he takes a handful of fries and takes a bite. after chewing and swallowing he sticks out his tongue a little and blows slightly.  
>"ah, these fries are pretty hot."<p>

"uh-oh, did you burn your tongue, ash?" says misty sliding over and taking ash's box of fries.  
>"here, let me cool them off for you."<p>

she holds them up near her mouth and blows on them lightly several times then puts them back on his tray.

"there, hope that's better." she says smiling.  
>ash takes a fry and eats it then says "thanks misty."<p>

misty giggles and says "you're very welcome."

Ash continues eating, then stops a second to wipe sweat from his face with his forearm.

"oh,are you hot, ash? here..." says dawn digging in her pocket and pulling out a mini paper fan, then goes over to ash and fans him.

"this should keep you cool." she says

"ah, thank you dawn" says ash.

Dawn smiles and thinks to herself "god, he's so cute up close. I just want to hold him and kiss him all day. oh..."

Dawn stops fanning him and says "um, there's something I have to do. I'll be right back, ok?"

She runs off leaving ash and the others pondering where she's going. ash quickly focuses back on his meal. naturally he eats everything on his plate in no time, leaving a bit of ketchup on his face.

"ash, you've got some ketchup on your face. here, let me get it for you." says may who walks over to ash with a napkin and gently wipes his face.

"oh thanks may." says ash as may smiles at him.

iris jumps up next and comes over to ash, grabbing his fountain soda.

"here you go, ash. bet you're thirsty. drink up." says iris holding the cup to ash's mouth. He takes a couple of sips of soda then says "ahhh! thanks iris!"

Iris giggles and says "anytime, ash."

The three girls glare at each other as ash sits back in his seat rubbing his stomach.

"Yum, that was good. maybe I'll get some more." he says

"oh, did you want more, ash? hold on, I'll go and get some more food for you." says misty running off

ash looks and says "oh, wait misty, you don't have to-"

"be right back! says misty who vanishes in the distant.

"o...k.." says ash as he turns around. He grabs his soda and drinks from the straw until it makes a slurping sound. he shakes the cup hearing nothing but ice rattling.

"out of soda ash? I'll get you some more. wait here, ok?" says iris as she runs off in the distant.

"um, alright..." says ash quietly

"Ah-Ah-Atchoo!" he says sneezing then rubbing his nose

"oh, need a napkin? um...there's none here but I can get some." says may

"oh no thanks, I'm fine. don't trouble yourself." says ash

"oh ash, its no problem. don't worry, I'll be back in a jiffy" says may who also takes off.

"hehe, wow. you're got four girls waiting on you hand and foot. how lucky." says cilan

"well...I don't feel very lucky..." says ash sighing.

A few minutes pass as ash and cilan sit and wait, then finally dawn comes running back to them.

"sorry I took so long, ash." she says

"no problem." says ash

"oh...looks like the others left too." says dawn looking around

"yeah, they went to go get some...things." says ash

"oh..." says dawn

"me and ash are alone...finally! now's my chance!" she thinks to herself

"well, I guess I'll sit down now.." she says

She walks over then suddenly sits down right on ash's lap much to his surprise.

"Dawn! w-w-w-w-what are you doing?!" he asks

Dawn giggles then says "I'm just sitting with you,ash. to tell the truth I've always wanted to sit with you like this."

"b-but dawn, you're on my l-l-lap!" says ash

"I know. what's wrong? you don't like me being on your lap?" says dawn

"w-well...n-no, I wouldn't say that...but..." says ash

"good, because this feels nice..." says dawn as she starts to wiggle her bottom back and forth on ash's lap.  
>"I don't think I ever want to get up."<p>

Ash begins to get "excited" as dawn continues moving around.

"I'm...getting real warm...I don't know why but...I'm starting to like it...if she keeps going...I feel like...like I'm...aagh." he thinks.

Just before ash starts to get "stiff" may comes walking back with some napkins and a bag.

"Hey ash, got some napkins and also a few chocolate bars. I know you'll like them. huh?" says may who then notices dawn sitting on ash.

"Hey dawn! get your flabby ass off of my ash!"

"What did you say?!" says dawn standing up

"you heard me! keep your big butt off of ash!" says may

"Excuse me?! at least I have a butt, shrimpy!" says dawn

"you wanna fight?!" says may

"bring it on!" says dawn

Sparks fly between the two while ash stays seated placing his hand over his forehead as if to cover his face. a light breeze soon passes through the area, which suddenly blows dawn's skirt up revealing her undies, white colored with a poke ball symbol on the back. she quickly pulls her skirt down in embarrassment and holds it until the wind stops. she then looks back at ash blushing and says "um,ash...did you see...?"

Ash, with his whole face red, looks away and says "uh,n-no..."

"Hmph, little tramp." may thinks to herself, irritated.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 11  
><strong>

Shortly after, iris comes back to the table with a cup of soda in hand.

"ash, I'm back." she says as she approaches.

Then coming in from the opposite direction of iris, misty runs to them with a bag of food in hand.

"Here, I've got more food, ash." says misty

They both come up to ash at the same time and say "Here ash, I got this just for you."

"uh, thanks you two. though you didn't have to." says ash

Misty pulls up a chair and sits right next to ash then says "Hey I've got a good idea. let's eat together, ash. like we used to."

She grabs him by the arm holding him tightly. seeing this, iris growls then sits down and grabs ash by his other arm pulling him toward her.

"ash, let US sit together and eat, just the two of us." says iris

misty pulls ash back to her and says "no, ash is sitting with me!"

iris pulls him back again saying "no, he's sitting with me!"

"I asked him first!" says misty pulling on ash

"so what?! I was here first!" says iris pulling him also

The three of them stand up as misty and iris both pull on ash in a tug-of-war.

"hey, what are you two doing?" says may

"you're hurting him!" says dawn

Ash grits his teeth being pulled in two directions until finally he yells out.  
>"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"<p>

Shocked, misty and iris stop pulling and let ash go. he leans over slightly to compose himself and sighs heavily.  
>He then turns to them and says "geez, what's with the four of you? you've been bickering all day. can you all just...get alond?"<p>

A pause as the four girls stare at ash, then they all say at the same time "I'm sorry, ash. I'll try to be nicer for you."

"wow, didn't think it would be that easy..." says ash

Just then cilan stands up, holds his hand out and says "Stop!"

Everyone turns their attention to him.

"huh? cilan?" says ash

"hmm, after listening to all of you the last couple of minutes I believe I may have a solution to this dilemma. so..."  
>Cilan tightens his bowtie, snaps his fingers, and says "iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's evaluation time!"<p>

"oh god, not this again..." says iris

"um, does he always do that?" says dawn

"yeah, pretty much." says iris

"it would seem the four of you have developed a close bond with ash at one point or another, and also a strong fondness. you all would like for ash to return these feelings to you in kind, and of course you want ash's affection to be for you and you alone. while confessing your feelings out loud is commendable, fighting is never a good way to win over one's heart. so I propose we do it in a more civilized and refined way. Therefore, I say we should have...a contest!"

"a contest?" the others say

"yes, a contest between the four of you. and what kind of contest you ask? hmm...how about...a cosplay contest!"

"Huh? Cosplay?" says iris

"yes, a cosplay contest should be perfect." says cilan walking toward them.  
>"the rules are simple. all four of you will pick an outfit and dress up to try and look as appealing as possible, and whomever looks the best will be named the winner and thus be deemed the most suitable for ash. oh, and the judge for this contest will be...none other than ash himself."<p>

"Wha?!" says ash as the girls look at cilan with intrigue.

"who knows, maybe the girl who wins the contest will be the girl ash falls for." says cilan

The girls begin to ponder the idea, and ash says "um, cilan. I don't think they're gonna go for that-"

"I'll do it!" says the four of them

"ahhh, I stand corrected..." says ash slumping over.

"ok, it's official then. now, all of you go pick your costumes and get ready. the contest will be at the pokemon center in 10 minutes. heh heh, this should be fun." says cilan


	12. Chapter 12

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 12  
><strong>

About 10 minutes later ash and cilan are sitting at a table in the waiting area of the pokemon center.

"well, the girls should be ready any moment now. wonder how they're gonna look?" says cilan

"yeah... I've never seen anything like this before, much less be a judge of it. this is new to me." says ash

"I see...so ash. I'm curious, which of the four of them do you like? surely you have a favorite by now?" says cilan

"oh...um, I uh..." says ash taking a moment to think about it.  
>"to be honest, I like them all equally. I mean, they're all...kinda...well...special to me..."<p>

"ho ho, I know what you mean. can't fault you for that. but unfortunetely you must choose just one. such is life." says cilan

ash sighs and says "yeah..."

"hmm..." says cilan glancing down the hallway.  
>"I think I should check to see if they're ready. be right back."<p>

Cilan walks over to the hallway and turns right.

"okay." says ash staying seated.

he then begins to think about what he should say and do next. a minute passes and ash is still deep in thought until he hears footsteps. he looks up to see cilan coming around the corner and stands in front of the hallway entrance.

"ok ash, everything's set. sooooo, let the cosplay contest begin!" says cilan while ash slides forward staring in anticipation.

"alright, first up hailing from the kanto region. she's the gym leader of the cerulean city gym. come on out, misty!"

Cilan steps aside and coming around the corner then standing in front of ash is misty who has her hair let down and is covered in a blue cape. she takes off the cape revealing her outfit. a light blue, one-piece bathing suit with blue slippers.

"it's been a while since I've worn anything like this..." says misty with a giggle as she spins around once showing ash all of her suit while ash looks on, speechless with his mouth open.

"so ash...how do I look?" she says blushing a bit.

"wow...uh...misty...you look...great..." he says blushing as well.

The two look at each other and smile. cilan steps up and says "well, that looks like a thumbs up from our judge. and may I say, nice touch on the swimsuit. ahem, ok. on with the contest. time for our next entry, hailing from the hoenn region. an ace coordinator who has competed in the hoenn and kanto grand festivals, here's may!"

May comes walking around the corner and stops in front of ash and cilan then "here I am!"

she is wearing a school girl uniform, a buttoned up white shirt and a black miniskirt. she twirls around several times while saying "coordinator extraordinare, I'm may!"

She then turns to ash and does a cutesy pose as he looks on.

"n-nice outfit may..." says ash

"thank you...sempai." says may

"Sempai?" says ash

"oh my..." says cilan

"yes, sempai. after all you are my senior in terms of pokemon and battling. I hope my uniform is to your liking, senior. and...maybe later you could give me a... private tutoring." says may as she then blows a kiss to ash. ash flinches then starts to blush while misty looks at may menacingly.

"alright, a nice showing by may as well and our judge approves. our first two contenders have come out strong. let's see if our final two can do the same. up next, hailing from the sinnoh region. she also is a pokemon coordinator who finished second in the sinnoh grand festival, let's hear it for dawn!" says cilan

Everyone then hears a whistle blowing coming from the hallway. walking out the hallway with a whistle in her mouth comes dawn wearing her red cheerleader outfit and pink pom-poms in her hands. after blowing her whistle a few more times she stands in front of everyone and says "hello all. now presenting ace pokemon coordinator and ash's personal cheerleader, me, dawn!"

"uhhh..." says ash wide-eyed

"how...interesting." says cilan

"and now I will do a special cheer just for you, ash." says dawn

Everyone watches in suspense as dawn shakes her pom-poms and dances around in cheerleader fashion.

"Ok, gimme a A-S-H-K-E-T-C-H-U-M! What's that spell? Ash ketchup!  
>Ash, fight! Ash, fight! Beat them all and do it right! Fight to be the champion, and don't stop til you're number one!<br>GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ASH!"

Dawn throws her pom-poms in the air and poses with her arms up. a brief pause then ash and cilan clap lightly. dawn looks at ash and says "I'll always cheer for you, ash." then she winks at him.

ash blushes and chuckles a little then says "thank you, dawn"

As misty and may look on unimpressed cilan comes up and says "wow, that was certainly unique. great job, dawn! so now we only have one more entry left to see. let's bring her out now. hailing from right here in the unova region from the village of dragons. a dragon master in training and our traveling companion, come on out iris!"

Darting out of the hallway and stopping in front of ash is iris who says "I am here!"  
>Iris is wearing the unova region's officer jenny uniform, complete with gloves and the officer hat.<p>

"future dragon master and defender of justice,I'm officer Iris!" she says as she poses with her finger pointing like its a gun.  
>"Evildoers beware, officer iris is on the job!"<p>

she then stands still and salutes with her right hand. the others look and stare as iris walks over to ash and touches his cheek.  
>"as for you, ash. I'm placing you in protective custody. don't worry, I'll take good care of you..." she says<p>

The two stare at each other blushing for a few seconds infuriating misty,may, and dawn.

"oooook, well that was a nice touch,um, officer iris. and with that, all four participants have shown their outfits. all of them quite good, might I add. so, it is now time to pick a winner. well ash, it's a tough choice but you're the judge. so who do you think looked the best in this cosplay contest? was it may, dawn, misty, or iris? take your time and make your decision. who will it be?" says cilan

For a few seconds ash thinks hard as he glances at the four of them.  
>"I think...the winner should be...um..." says ash as the girls look in suspense.<br>"I...I pick...I...I can't pick!...you all looked good so...I can't pick just one. so I...I pick all four of you!"

Everyone gasps in shock.

"well...this is odd..." says cilan

"Ash, you can't pick all four of us! you have to pick one!" says misty

"yeah, ash. it's easy, just pick me!" says may

"no, pick me!" says dawn

"s-sorry, I...just can't..." says ash

"AAASH!" the four of them say

"now, now. the judge has spoken, so it seems we have a four-way tie." says cilan as everyone turns to him.  
>"well if a winner can't be decided here, I guess we have to settle this the old fashioned way. with the ultimate tiebreaker, a pokemon battle!"<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 13  
><strong>

"Huh?" says ash

"A pokemon battle?" says iris

"Yes, a pokemon battle between the four of you. I say we have a sort of a mini tournament in which you four will compete against each other in two matches. the winners of these two matches will face each other in the finals and the winner of that match will be the champion and claim bragging rights to ash." says cilan

"whoa, now that sounds interesting." says ash

"I thought you might like that, ash. oh and to make things more interesting, the winner will also get to go out on a fantastic dinner with ash at one of castelia city's fine restaurants, paid for by yours truly." says cilan

"Huh?!" says ash

"sounds great! I'm in!" says dawn

"me too!" says may

"good, now I can prove that I'm the top girl here." says misty.

"Heh, we'll see who the top girl is." says iris.

"ok then. everyone get ready and meet up at the central plaza in 30 minutes. then the battles will begin." says cilan

About 30 minutes later ash and cilan are standing around near the water fountain at central plaza. cilan glances over at a nearby clock to check the time. just then ash and cilan notice misty, may, dawn, and iris arriving at the same time. They are all in their usual clothes and they all look focused.

"alright, looks like everyone's here. I will now explain the rules. as I said before this will be a mini tournament style battle between the four of you. each match will be a one-on-one pokemon battle with no time limit and the match ends when one side's pokemon are unable to continue. now then, for the matchups..." says cilan

He goes into his front pocket and pulls out four little pieces of paper then holds his hand out in front of them.

"I have here four slips of paper with numbers on them. each of you please pick one."

The four girls step up, each picks one piece of paper, and looks at it.

"ok, now one at a time, tell me what number you have." says cilan

"I've got 1" says misty

"4" says iris

"2" says dawn

"3" says may

"ok,got it." says cilan writing on a small pad in his hand.  
>"so that means the matches will be misty vs. dawn and may vs. iris."<p>

The four girls stare at each other intently.

"now that that's decided, let's not waste any time. let the battles begin!"

A few seconds later misty and dawn are facing each other in a wide open space of the plaza with cilan standing to the side and ash, may, and iris sitting on a nearby bench.

"The first battle is dawn vs. misty. I'll be the referee. sooo, battle start!" says cilan

"Ok, mamoswine, Spotlight!" says dawn sending out mamoswine

"hmm...ok, azumarill. I choose you!" says misty sending out azumarill

"mamoswine, let's start off with take down!"

"azumarill, use protect!"

Azumarill protects itself from take down. dawn grits her teeth as mamoswine jumps back.

"ok mamoswine, let's try hidden power!"

"azumarill, use iron tail!"

Azumarill knocks the hidden power away with iron tail.

"now azumarill, let's go on the offensive and use double-edge!"

"mamoswine, quick, use ice fang!"

mamoswine hits azumarill with ice fang before azumarill hits, knocking it back.

"mamoswine, ice fang one more time!"

"azumarill, iron tail!"

They both collide with ice fang and iron tail seemingly matched in power. the two jump back and stare each other down.

"pretty good start from both pokemon." says cilan

"looking good, you two." yells ash

"huh?! but I look much better than those two, ash!" says may.

"uh, may. I meant them battling." says ash

"geez, you're such a little kid." says iris

May glares at iris and says "what'd you call me?!"

"mamoswine, hidden power!"

"azumarill, dodge it then use iron tail!"

azumarill dodges the hidden power and connects with iron tail. mamoswine steps back a bit.

"good, azumarill. now, iron tail again!"

"mamoswine, hit it with ice shard!"

mamoswine hits ice shard, knocking azumarill back a little.

"alright mamoswine, ice shard again while it's still reeling!"

"azumarill, protect!"

azumarill blocks ice shard.

"grrr, ok mamoswine, take down!"

"azumarill, jump over that take down and get behind mamoswine!"

azumarill jumps, avoiding take down, and lands behind mamoswine who stops and looks back.

"now azumarill, hydro pump!"

Mamoswine is hit directly with hydro pump. it is knocked back and falls hard on its side.

"mamoswine, no!"

mamoswine lays on the ground, fainted.

"mamoswine is unable to battle, azumarill wins! therefore the winner of the match is misty!" says cilan

dawn gasps while misty grins happily then shouts out "yes! I did it! I win! ha ha!"

She holds up a "V" with her fingers while dawn holds her head down in disappointment.

"mamoswine, return." she says sadly  
>She then falls to her knees and shouts "Waaaaaaah! How could I lose?!"<p>

"well that was a good battle. but wow, misty's gotten a bit stronger..." thought ash

"great battle, you two. uh, better luck next time, dawn. now on to our second match!" says cilan

"heh, we're up next!" says may standing up

"yup, time to battle!" says iris

Soon after, may and iris are facing each other ready to battle with misty a few feet away from cilan on the side watching closely.

"our next battle is iris vs. may and the winner of this match will face misty in the finals. good luck to both of you!" says cilan

meanwhile dawn is now sitting on the bench with ash holding his arm and has her head on his shoulder.

"ash, I'm sorry I lost..." says dawn

"uhhh...it's ok..." says ash

"And battle...Begin!" says cilan


	14. Chapter 14

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 14  
><strong>

"Glaceon, take the stage!" says may releasing glaceon.

"Alright, go excadrill!" says iris releasing excadrill.

The two have a staredown.

"Hmm...excadrill. I've never seen that pokemon before. better be careful." thought may

"aaaah, an ice type! why'd she have to use that?!" thought iris shivering a bit then quickly refocuses.  
>"no, I can't be scared! I have to be strong! I have to win! for ash!"<p>

"glaceon, let's start with water pulse!" says may

"excadrill, counter with focus blast!" says iris

water pulse and focus blast collide, canceling each other out.

"ok glaceon, now use quick attack!"

glaceon hits quick attack, causing little damage.

"excadrill, use metal claw!"

"glaceon, dodge it!"

glaceon dodges metal claw.

"now glaceon, double team!"

glaceon's double team quickly surrounds excadrill.

"excadrill, keep using metal claw until you hit the real one!"

excadrill uses metal claw repeatedly making the illusions vanish then finally hits the real glaceon, knocking it back.

"glaceon,quick, use water pulse again!"

"excadrill, use dig!"

excadrill dives underground avoiding water pulse. glaceon stands still, looking around.

"stay alert, glaceon!"

After a few seconds of silence the ground starts to rumble under glaceon.

"strike, excadrill!"

excadrill hit dig but glaceon manages to avoid the brunt of the attack.

"now glaceon, ice beam!"

ice beam connects sending excadrill to the ground on its back.

"you ok, excadrill? get up!"

excadrill slowly stands up then everyone sees excadrill's claws are frozen together.

"oh no, excadrill! your claws!"

"glaceon, now its vunerable so use quick attack!"

glaceon hits quick attack. excadrill slides back from the impact.

"now, water pulse! hit it this time!"

water pulse hits causing big damage. excadrill falls to its knees.

"excadrill, no!"

"heh, gotcha." says may with a smirk.

"can excadrill continue?" asks cilan

"excadrill please, stand up! you can do it!" says iris

excadrill slowly gets up then struggles with its arms as if to try to break the ice.

"good excadrill! don't worry, we're still in this. this battle's not over. so, break free of that ice now!"

after a grunt excadrill finally breaks the ice freeing its claws, shocking may and glaceon.

"alright! let's win this! focus blast!"

"aaah, glaceon dodge it!"

glaceon dodges but now excadrill has darted right in front of glaceon.

"now, metal claw!"

excadrill hits metal claw knocking glaceon down to the ground.

"glaceon!"

"now excadrill, finish it with drill run!"

"glaceon, get up now! get outta there!"

glaceon tries to stand but its too late as excadrill hits with drill run. glaceon is hit up in the air then lands on the ground rolling several times before stopping. it lays on its side, fainted.

"oh no!" says may

"glaceon is unable to battle! excadrill's the winner! therefore the victor is iris!" says cilan.

"hahaha! Yes, yes! we won! we won! that was great, excadrill!" says iris excitely.

"Aaaah! noooo! I can't believe I lost!" says may then slouches over.

"whoa, the new girl's pretty good. but it's nothing I can't handle." thinks misty

"what a battle. I'm pumped just watching it!" says ash while dawn, still clinging to him, makes a pouty face.

"great battle! and with that the final match has been made. it will be misty vs. iris! I can't wait to see it! but first, heal up your pokemon at the pokemon center then the match is on." says cilan

"hmm...so next I face..." thinks iris as she turns and looks at misty.  
>"one more win...I dedicate this battle...to you, ash."<p>

Several minutes later having healed their pokemon, misty and iris now stand across from each other ready to battle.

"this is the final battle to determine who wins the title of best girl and who goes to dinner with ash. Its misty vs. iris! Good luck to you both." says cilan

"time to prove I'm the best. Then me and ash can finally have the alone time we never had before." thinks misty.

"alright, I'm gonna win this. I've come too far to lose! Just watch me, ash." thinks iris

misty and iris glance over at ash, only to see dawn and now may clinging to his arms.

"ash... I failed you..." says may

"hey!" yells misty and iris

"battle begin!" says cilan

"azumarill, I choose you!" says misty

"excadrill, come on out!" says iris

"azumarill, let's hit em early with hydro pump!"

"excadrill, dodge it!"

excadrill dodges hydro pump.

"now, drill run!"

"azumarill, protect!"

azumarill protected itself from drill run. The two pokemon then stare each other down.

"this is shaping up to be quite the battle." says cilan

for about a minute the two exchange blows with neither showing signs of giving up. The two stop panting heavily facing each other.

"excadrill, metal claw!" "azumarill, iron tail!"

metal claw and iron tail collide with equal power.

"azumarill, now double edge!"

azumarill hits with double edge but then cringes after taking recoil damage.

"now excadrill, focus blast!"

"azumarill, protect quick!"

azumarill protects.

"heh, thought you might use that move." says iris

"huh?!" says misty

"alright excadrill, use metal claw as protect wears off!"

excadrill hits metal claw.

"now, wrap this up with a close range focus blast!"

focus blast connects sending azumarill flying a little ways then landing face first on the ground. Excadrill, having used a lot of energy, falls to one knee.

"excadrill! Don't fall, stay up!"

"azumarill, stand up, please!"

azumarill lifts its head and tries to pull itself up slowly.

"agh, get ready excadrill!"

"c'mon azumarill, you can do it!"

azumarill gets up on one leg but as it tries to stand it fallsto the ground, fainted.

"azumarill!"

"it looks like... Azumarill's unable to battle, excadrill wins. therefore the winner of the match, and the tournament, is iris!"

"ah... hehehehe... Yes! Yes! We did it! We won! We won! I knew you could do it, excadrill! Hahahahahaha!" says iris jumping around in joy.

"I can't believe it... I lost like this..." says misty sighing.

"well, I guess my alone time with ash is gonna have to wait..." she thinks to herself.

Misty walks over to iris, who is still celebrating her win, and extends her hand to iris.

"good match. Congrats." says misty

iris looks then smiles and extends her hand. The two briefly shake hands.

"thanks, you too." says iris

"what a great battle, and what sportsmanship too." says cilan

"alright, and this means... I get to go out to dinner with ash! Just me and him, by ourselves, finally! You might as well say its a date! Hee hee!.." thinks iris

"hey ash, what'd you think of my battle?" says iris turning to ash.

Ash, still sitting on the bench with dawn and may clinging to his arms, now has misty in his lap with her arms around his neck.

"ash, forgive me." says misty, may, and dawn.

"what are you three doing?!" says iris

"hehehe, ash you're quite the charmer. Hope you enjoy your dinner date." thinks cilan

a hour later in another part of the city, ash and iris are sitting at a dinner table in one of the city's finer restaurants. They both have a plate in front of them with something looking like steak on it. Ash is stuffing his face while iris gazes at him.

"so ash, how's your food?" asks iris

"mmm, good." says ash with his mouth full.

Iris giggles and says "good, eat as much as you want. Cilan's paying for it."

"huh? Hey arent you going to eat, iris?" says ash.

"oh, yeah I will... So, did you like the battles?" says iris.

"oh yeah, they were great. I was pumped up watching them. But iris, you were amazing. The way you beat may and misty, and both of them are good battlers. Incredible wins!" says ash.

"oh thank you, ash. But that was nothing special, just some things I learned from you. you're the amazing one, ash." says iris

"huh?" says ash

"well, it's just the way you battle. no matter what situation you're in or how tough your opponent is, you seem to be able to will your pokemon on and get them in a position to be able to win the battle. most of the time you do find a way to win, so... I kinda took something from watching you battle." says iris

"oh?" says ash

"yeah. you'll be a pokemon master someday, I know it. and I'm sure you'll be great in the unova league once you get there..and ash..."  
>she then takes ash's hand and holds it.<br>"I'll be right here supporting you. whatever you need, I'm here...I'll follow you to the ends of the earth."

The two gaze at each other for a few seconds.

"oh! uh..." says iris letting go of ash's hand and turning away.  
>"sorry ash. guess that was kinda awkward."<p>

"oh,no its ok..." says ash

For a few seconds there is an awkward silence.

"um,say, iris...I... wanted to say..." says ash

"yes? what is it, ash?" says iris

"over the past day or so, I...I feel that...that I've grown to...lo..." says ash

"lo?..." says iris

"lo,lo,lo...like you a bit more...haha..." says ash blushing a little.

"oh...hehehe..." says iris

"like? you just like me a Bit more, ash?!" she thought.

while ash begins to eat again iris sighs and smiles.

"well, that's ok. I can be patient, after all we'll be traveling together for a long time. ash, I can wait...cause I know someday, you'll like me the way I like you..."

As the two finish their dinner, watching them from outside with their faces pressed against the window are misty, may, and dawn. the three look on with envious faces, not noticing other people can see them.


	15. Chapter 15 (Final)

**Ash's Predictament Chapter 15  
><strong>

Later on, the sun is setting and everyone has now returned to the pokemon center. misty, may, dawn, and iris are all together in the backroom where the beds are getting their stuff together.

"so iris...how'd your "date" go?" says may

"pretty well, in fact I'd say me and ash got closer" says iris

"uh-huh..." says may

"now look here! it doesn't matter if you went out to dinner with him! cause...cause I'm ash's girl!" says dawn

"hmm, funny. I seem to recall him traveling with me now, which means I'm ash's girl!" says iris

"that doesn't matter, cause ash likes me the best!" says dawn

"no, he likes me the best!" says iris

"heh, you're both wrong. did you see the way ash looked at me during my match? it's obvious who he likes the best." says may

"yeah, me!" says iris and dawn.

The three then glare at one another until misty steps in between them.

"alright, alright, that's enough you three. We've already had our battles today, there's no need for any more. What would ash say if he saw us? Look, iris won the tournament fair and square. She earned the right to go out with ash." says misty.

"but..." says dawn

misty shakes her head then says "look at us, bickering like this. like little children. we're above this, aren't we? if you think about it we shouldn't be fighting, we should be friends. after all we do have some things in common. we're all trainers, we're all traveling to reach our goals, and we all happen to like the same guy, ash. I think we can all agree ash is the best, even if he is stubborn at times..."

"and clumsy.." says may

"and absentminded.." says dawn

"and acts like a little kid sometimes.." says iris

the four of them share a laugh thinking about it.

"but that's what makes ash ash, and thats what we like about him." says misty

everyone in the room nods.

"so what do you say? no more fighting." says misty

the others nod again.

"truce." says misty holding out her hand.

Iris, dawn, and may all do the same. They all put their hands together one on top of another.

"ok, we'll all care for ash, and whomever ash picks to be his girlfriend, no hard feelings." says misty

"right!" says may, dawn, and iris

"...of course you girls know, he's going to pick me..." says misty

"no, he's picking me." says iris

"no, me." says may and dawn.

Meanwhile in the main lobby of the pokemon center ash is sitting down and cilan is standing up next to him.

"wow, some day, huh ash?" says cilan

"yeah it was." says ash

"so, how did it feel being the center of attention?" says cilan

"um, kinda weird. it was a bit too much attention. Kinda reminds me of a chikorita I caught long ago that was real attached to me. It's now a bayleef." says ash

"ah, I see." says cilan.

Then the center's nurse joy walks up and says "excuse me, are you ash ketchum?"

"yeah, that's me." says ash

"you have a call waiting for you. Its from someone who says they know you." says nurse joy

"oh, ok." says ash standing up.

He walks over to where the video phones are and sees one that says "on hold" on the video monitor. He picks up the receiver and says "hello, this is ash."

a familar voice on the other end says _"hey, its been a while huh? What's up?"_  
>then on the video monitor ash sees that its brock on the line.<br>_"remember me, ash?"_ says brock

"ah, brock its you! of course I remember!" says ash

_"yup, its me! How's it going?"_ says brock

"fine. I'm just fine. You?" says ash

_"I've been good. Professor oak told me you were in the unova region now and would probably be in castelia city so I decided to give you a call. So, battling to be in the unova league I take it?"_ says brock

"yup, got three badges so far and some new, tough pokemon. What have you been up to?" says ash

_"oh, you know, the same. Training to be a great pokemon breeder. been at home in pewter city most of the time but right now I'm in celadon city with a... special someone. To tell you the truth... I'm going on a date!"_ says brock

"huh? A date?" says ash

_"yeah! believe it or not, I've got a girlfriend now! The brockster finally won one over! she's getting ready now."_ says brock

then in the background a voice says _"oh, brock. here you are."_

brock looks away from the monitor and says _"yeah, I'm talking to a friend on the phone. oh, come here a minute."_  
>he turns back to the monitor and says <em>"ash, let me introduce you to her. actually you've met her before, in fact you've battled her. She's the frontier brain of the battle pike, queen lucy!"<em>

brock slides over and lucy steps in front of the monitor. she's wearing a light blue sleeveless top with a light blue skirt and white belt.

"ah, its you!" says ash

_"oh, hello there ash. long time no see. you're looking well."_ says lucy

"yeah, you're looking well too." says ash

_"thank you. oh and best of luck on your journey. well, I'll leave you two to catch up...oh, brock... I'm ready now."_ says lucy blushing

_"ok, I'll just be a minute."_ says brock as he turns back to ash.  
><em>"so what do you think ash? isn't she the best! it's been amazing since we started dating. I mean she's smart, funny, kind, and attractive, and she's good with pokemon. on top of that, she really likes me for me! plus let me tell you she's got some stamina. I mean wow, she just keeps going and going and-<em>"

_"Brock!..."_ says lucy in the background.

_"oh,right. sorry lucy! I-I'm coming right now!...hey, gotta go,ash. good luck with your unova league challenge. I'll keep in touch."_ says brock

"ok, see you, brock." says ash as he hangs up.  
>He then walks back to the main lobby.<p>

"that brock..." he says to himself chuckling a little.

"Hey, ash." a voice says

Ash turns around to see misty standing there.

"oh,misty." says ash

"what're you up to?" says misty

"nothing, just got a call from brock." says ash

"oh really? brock? how is he?" says misty

"he's fine. he's in celadon city now." says ash

"oh? wonder what he's doing there? probably hitting on girls again..." says misty

"hahahaha...something like that..." says ash

"anyway, um, ash? I have something to tell you." says misty

"huh?" says ash

A few seconds later.

"what? you have to go to cerulean city right away?" says ash

"yeah, gym leader duties. I really wish I could've stayed longer." says misty

"oh...that's ok...I know you're busy.." says ash

"but...don't worry ash. we'll see each other again, I'm sure of it. I'll try to keep in contact with you...and, ash...if...if you ever need a...traveling companion... all you have to do is ask me. I'll be happy to..." says misty blushing

"uh...ok." says ash blushing

"well...I'd better get going. good luck in the unova league. well, I guess this is... goodbye for now ash." says misty

"yeah, goodbye misty. be safe." says ash

Misty waves then starts to walk towards the entrance. before she walks out she suddenly stops in front of the door.  
>"oh." she says as she then walks back toward ash.<p>

"huh? forget something?" says ash

"yeah, I did. how could I forget something so important." says misty as she stands close to ash.

she then leans in and kisses him on the lips. after a few seconds she backs away and ash stands, wide-eyed, with his entire face red.

"...just wanted to give you something to remember me by. well, later, ash." says misty who then walks out the front entrance looking back at ash briefly.

Ash is left there speechless with his face still red.

"s-she...just kissed me..." thinks ash

"Ash!"

Ash looks and sees may coming to him.

"oh, may." says ash

"sorry to say but I've gotta head back to hoenn. I hope I get to see you again. oh,and...uh...when you're finished with the unova league...come and pay me a visit, ok?" says may

"sure, I will." says ash

"good...now, one more thing." may says getting closer to ash.

she then kisses him. it lasts about as long as misty's kiss and once again ash's face turned red and he starts to shiver a little.

"ok,um...bye ash." says may waving back as she walks out leaving ash standing there

"t-t-two kisses?!" thinks ash

"oh, Ash!"

Ash turns again seeing dawn this time. she runs up close to ash putting her arms around his neck.

"I've gotta leave now. sorry I can't stay. but I promise I'll be back to see you real soon!" says dawn

"uh,ok." says ash

Dawn smiles and then she suddenly kisses him. dawn's kiss is significantly longer than the first two. as she backs up after kissing him ash starts to wobble around lightheaded.

"bye ash, I'll miss you! don't forget me, ok?" says dawn as she darts out the front entrance.

Ash waves at her, still wobbling. he then starts to walk backwards and falls back on the bench, then leans back dizzy eyed. meanwhile cilan who witnessed some of this is standing right outside the pokemon center.

"heh heh heh, wow ash. how lucky. however ash, you aren't the only one who can handle more than one girl at once. isn't that right, girls?" says cilan as he walks over and puts his arms around two girls who happen to be burgundy and georgia.

"right, cilan!" says burgundy energetically

"sure...let's just do this." says georgia

"my pleasure" says cilan as the three start walking

He then slides his hand down georgia's back and gently squeezes her butt.

"hey, watch your hand." says georgia

Elsewhere outside of some buildings, sitting at a small table are jesse and james of team rocket in their usual white uniforms drinking what appears to be tea.

"another successful mission today..." says james

"yes, hopefully the rest of the operation will go as planned." says jesse

"...great work as always, jesse. you're so commanding...yet so beautiful and elegant." says james

"ahh...you too, james. so handsome and dashing..." says jesse

"jesse..."

"james..."

The two lean on the table towards each other as if going for a kiss. they slowly get closer and closer. just then meowth comes up to the table.

"I'm back!" says meowth

james and jesse jump back into their seats quickly. at around the same time on the castelia city side of skyarrow bridge, professor juniper is leaning against the bridge railing looking at a sheet of paper which looks like a profile of ash with a picture of him.

"ash ketchum...mmm...I look forward to see how you grow, both as a trainer and as a man..." she says to herself.

A half hour later ash along with cilan and iris are walking through town headed for the gateway to route 4.

"ok gang, up ahead is route 4 which leads to our next destination, nimbasa city. we're on the right path." says cilan holding a map

"Alright! that's where my next gym battle is, can't wait!" says ash

"nimbasa city, I've always wanted to go there! there are so many attractions. how exciting!" says iris  
>she then grabs ash's arm and says "let's go, ash!"<p>

"uh,sure, iris" says ash as the two walk ahead together

"heh heh heh...I can tell, this combination's gonna be interesting to watch." cilan says to himself then runs and catches up to ash and iris

a minute later the three pass through the gate and walk into the distance.

And so, after the stop at castelia city became more eventful then expected our heroes continue on their quest. but still, there are several questions yet to be answered. who will ash choose to be his girlfriend? or will he be able to choose just one? what was going on between cilan, burgundy, and georgia? and what about the relationship between jesse and james? or brock and lucy? is professor juniper a cougar? these questions will be answered in time as the journey continues...

The End

Hello everyone, seiji here. hope you enjoyed reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it. now time for the million dollar question: who should ash's girlfriend be? though their behavior in this story was exaggerated I do believe all 4 girls have a thing for ash, so I want to hear from you. who should ash be with: Misty, May, Dawn, or Iris? post a comment and tell us what you think. Thanks!


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